#2 (Tie): House of Wings

Skin Crispness: (3.5/5) Wingettes were awesome, but the drumettes could have been crisper.

Juiciness: (4/5) Who knew such tiny wings could pack such a punch? Each wing was remarkably juicy.

Sauce flavor: (4/5) The sauce really stood out here. Once again, it wasn't overly spicy, instead showcasing a lot of depth and just hint of sweetness.

Portion size: (4.5/5) 12 wings, $5.45 ($.45/piece) Sure, the wings are tiny, but they are still an absolute bargain.

Overall Satisfaction: (8/10) It's hard to call these traditional, but there is no denying how tasty they are. The celery and blue cheese aren't exactly top quality, but these are some awesome little wings.

Portion Size: (3/5) 6 wings, $6.50 ($1.08/piece). Toons is surprisingly pricey at more than a buck a wing for a small order. But in terms of meat on the bone, these wings are squarely on the better side of average.

Overall Satisfaction: (8/10) These wings qualify as delicious. The blue cheese was chunky and tangy. And what's more, Toons serves superior celery; the thick crunchy stalks have a bright sweetness that calls out "fresh."

Portion Size: (2.5/5) 9 wings, $12 ($1.33/piece). The pieces themselves are large (Bull & Bear boasts on its menu that its wings are from organic chickens), but only nine wings arrived on the plate when the portion size had been quoted as 10. Easily the least value for the price of any plate of wings we tried.

Overall Satisfaction: (8/10) These are really enjoyable wings, mostly due to the crisp skin and robust, flavorful meat beneath. You get both ranch and blue cheese dressing on the side, plus a sizable portion of celery, carrots and radishes. And because the chicken is organic, you can almost convince yourself that you're eating healthy.

Sauce Flavor: (3/5) The flavor profile of this sauce is very unusual, but in mostly an interesting way. It has a mild heat and a sweetness that, to us, seems to recall Chinese orange sauce. No doubt there's a dose of corn starch mixed in to achieve its gooey thickness.

Portion Size: (2.5/5) 12 wings, $6.49 ($.54/piece) While these wings are among the smallest we encountered, you still get a big meal for your money when you factor in price.

Overall Satisfaction: (7/10) The crispiness and intriguing sauce are impressive. While you only get celery, it is crunchy and fresh. But points docked for only serving ranch dressing.

#11 (Tie): Timothy O'Toole's

Juiciness: (2.5/5) A little lacking. The meat is pretty stringy and dry overall—just not very robust. Flavor-wise the meat is overshadowed by the sauce.

Sauce Flavor: (2.5/5) Thin and runny, without much depth. There's a strong vinegar taste, somewhat balanced out by moderate heat.

Portion Size: (3/5) 10 wings, $8.49 ($.85/piece) Not very much meat on these bones.

Overall Satisfaction: (6.5/10) The blue cheese dressing is bland, but thick, crunchy stalks of carrot and celery accompany the wings. You could say these wings are crisp to a fault; the skin is taut and crunchy, but it's at the expense of the juiciness of the chicken inside.

#13: McGee's Tavern & Grille

Skin Crispiness: (2.5/5) Sadly, the wings at McGee's are seldom crisp. The skin is a little leathery and mushy at the same time.

Juiciness: (2.5/5) Just okay. Several wings were overcooked and dry.

Sauce Flavor: (3/5) Peppery! Not only is it thick and savory, the sauce has a distinct, and rather good, black-pepper flavor. That said, the sauce exhibits little balance—mostly heat and no vinegary kick.

Portion Size: (3.5/5) 12 wings, $7.95 ($.66/piece). Lots of wings to a portion, but most are pretty scrawny.

Overall Satisfaction: (6.5/10) The blue cheese dressing had one giant clump of cheese in it. Not cool. There was a sizable portion of carrots and celery, however. But, c'mon, no wet nap?

Portion Size: (3/5) 6 full wings (or 12 pieces), $8.95 ($.75/piece) Mother Hubbard's is one of the few establishments on our list that serve the entire chicken wing intact, with all three major parts still as one. For all the stuff in this basket, these wings turn out to be a bit skimpy. There's just so much bone and inedible joints and whatnot to contend with. You end up eating a lot of chicken, but much more skin than meat.

Overall Satisfaction: (5.5/10) Presenting a whole wing seems like a means to skimp. There's just so much waste, and eating them can be cumbersome, messy...the word medieval comes to mind. The blue cheese is chunky and flavorful, but the carrots and celery are, again, pretty skimpy.

#16 (Tie): Crisp

Skin Crispiness: (2.5/5) Although the wings are crisp—the place lives up to its name—the sheer amount of sauce, which is rather greasy, overtakes the crispiness and makes these wings hard to enjoy. The skin itself has a tortured, mottled look—perhaps a sign of over-frying.

Juiciness: (2/5) It's hard to determine how juicy the chicken is, what with all the sauce everywhere, but they turn out to be fairly moist and tender once you find an un-sauced morsel.

Sauce Flavor: (2.5/5) points. These wings are overdressed and the sauce is thinned unpleasantly with oil. No wonder the sauce is everywhere. Flavor-wise, the sauce is lacking balance, although it is nice and punchy thanks to a strong hit of vinegar. The flavor of butter seems absent; Crisp may be using oil in its Buffalo sauce instead.

Portion Size: (3/5) Crisp loses points for serving a fully intact wing. What a pain to break down! Wings are messy enough. But overall, the wings at Crisp are meaty and, all told, the price is roughly average for the amount of food you get.

#19: Hooters

Skin Crispiness: (2/5) Turns out at Hooters, the default Buffalo wing is the restaurant's breaded rendition, which breaks our rules for what constitutes a proper example of the cuisine. After sending back a breaded order, we finally got Hooters' "naked" wings. Well, the level of crispness plummeted without the crutch of a heavy coating of flour.

Juiciness: (3/5) The meat was pretty juicy, but that could have had something to do with the copious amounts of butter in the Buffalo sauce.

Sauce Flavor: (2/5) Hooters' mild sauce is essentially butter with only a hint of heat and no vinegar punch whatsoever. It's bland.

Portion Size: (2/5) 6 wings, $5.19 ($.87/piece) Once you get these suckers "naked," it's clear that Hooters' wings are scrawny.

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